11 years a slave - end of my journey from £103,500 in debt

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Comments

  • armouredbeast
    armouredbeast Posts: 20 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    shomic5 wrote: »
    A very very painful 4yrs and 2 months but finally it is gone....

    Top Tips for Lloyds Bank Customers:

    • DO check your PPI - Lloyds one paid of my overdraft debt
    • DO check if you have ever had an account you have to pay a monthly charge on - mine was refunding (Lloyds again) and that paid off credit card debt with Lloyds (ironic karma!!)
    • DO ask Lloyds to stop charging interest on your debt - they were audited recently and agreed they should have stopped and consequently paid £3.5k back me, allowing me to settle my DMP debt 8 months early
    • DO NOT go with a DMP company which charges you for handling your debt, I used StepChange a wonderful, wonderful government run charity - absolutely no fees!!!

    DO hang in there and keep smiling ...

    MS (Proud to be "Debt Free")

    Congratulations on your debt free achievement!!

    Cheers! I am considering going with StepChange for my DMP to sort out my £6900 debt.......
  • Barbie61
    Barbie61 Posts: 23 Forumite
    First Anniversary
    What an inspirational story -thank you for sharing this with us. Congratulations and enjoy your life from now on; it certainly is a learning curve and we have to learn about ourselves and why we have these habits in the first place I think. You've given me a boost today and yes I will always remember this story.
    Best regards
  • Bobbi321
    Bobbi321 Posts: 1 Newbie
    Well done you have inspired me to tackle my debts which have been dragging me down for over 15 years
  • Leon_W
    Leon_W Posts: 1,813 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    Am I the only one here who thinks the OP has been completely daft ?

    Yes, it's a nice story etc etc, but whoever advised him to start a DMP that would have (originally) taken him to 2021 ought to hang their head in shame !

    He had £0 income and £0 assets. Oh.... and owed the not insignificant sum of £103,000. Does that situation not scream that bankruptcy is the right route ?

    He'd have been discharged after a year, credit rating repaired after 6, and free to get on with his life.

    It just reads to me like he's put himself through 11 years of needless misery unnecessarily.
  • lindez
    lindez Posts: 643 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    Congratulations what an achievement and an inspiration to all thank you for sharing your journey.
    MFWB#2
    MFTT5 #28
    Save 12k 2020 #111
  • Slytherin
    Slytherin Posts: 57 Forumite
    So happy I have read this thread. First and foremost, happy for the OP for their incredible achievement in paying off the debt and learning so much from the experience. But also happy for myself and other forum users who can hopefully return to this thread whenever it feels like they are climbing the world!!!8217;s highest mountain with no shoes on.

    The steely resolve it must have taken to pay back so much.... it really has made me wonder if I can bring my own DFD forward. Also, the few posts about debt as being !!!8216;just business!!!8217; has really given me a sense of clarity. Thanks so much to everyone involved in this wonderful thread.
  • sbgriseum
    sbgriseum Posts: 7 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    7:48pm

    I would have a big poster made with the time on!

    Brilliant - WELL DONE - I bet you are grinning!

    I hope you can help others on the forum too - dont disappear with all that knowledge.
  • Derek_Greenfield
    Derek_Greenfield Posts: 4 Newbie
    Wow, what an inspiring story. Thank you for sharing.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    Leon_W wrote: »
    Am I the only one here who thinks the OP has been completely daft ?

    Yes, it's a nice story etc etc, but whoever advised him to start a DMP that would have (originally) taken him to 2021 ought to hang their head in shame !

    He had £0 income and £0 assets. Oh.... and owed the not insignificant sum of £103,000. Does that situation not scream that bankruptcy is the right route ?

    He'd have been discharged after a year, credit rating repaired after 6, and free to get on with his life.

    It just reads to me like he's put himself through 11 years of needless misery unnecessarily.

    I read that he started the DMP after he got himself a job. And maybe he wanted to pay every penny back for closure?? If he had taken an easier route then he might’ve slipped back into bad spending habits.
  • Austin0710
    Austin0710 Posts: 15 Forumite
    Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    What a brilliant story!
    I was 42k in debt in 2014 and thought I would never ever clear it.
    Today it's down to 9k and reading your story gives real inspiration that regardless of what mess you're in it CAN be sorted with hard work and determination!
    Well done :)
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